U.S. News, Politics & Government
Overnight Defense: Pentagon orders bases to stop reporting coronavirus numbers
The Hill – THE TOPLINE: The Pentagon has ordered military bases and combatant commands to withhold coronavirus case numbers, citing operational security concerns.
“As we continue to grapple with the novel nature of COVID19, we are constantly assessing and adapting not only how we respond to combatting the virus, but also how we share critical public health information with our communities,” Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said in a statement on Monday.
“We will not report the aggregate number of individual service member cases at individual unit, base or Combatant Commands. We will continue to do our best to balance transparency in this crisis with operational security.”
What the Pentagon will share: Farah said that the Defense Department and each military service will continue to offer a daily, public update of the full number of cases in all services and of civilians, contractors and dependents.
The Pentagon’s thinking: Defense Secretary Mark Esper last week told Reuters that he wants the Pentagon to withhold “mission-specific information” to protect operational security.
“What we want to do is give you aggregated numbers. But we’re not going to disaggregate numbers because it could reveal information about where we may be affected at a higher rate than maybe some other places,” Esper said.
The numbers so far: As of Monday morning, 569 active-duty service members have contracted the illness, as had 220 civilian personnel, 190 family members and 64 contractors.
The CDC will set up a coronavirus ‘surveillance and data collection system’ as part of the $2 trillion stimulus bill, which President Trump just signed into law
Business Insider – The CDC will launch a new “surveillance and data collection system” to track the spread of coronavirus in the US, per the coronavirus relief bill signed into law Friday.
The agency would receive emergency funding as part of the bipartisan stimulus package. Of that, $500 million will go public health data surveillance and analytics infrastructure modernization.
Tracking the spread of the virus will be a balancing act for the agency, which will have to navigate privacy laws as it expands its surveillance.
President Donald Trump signed into law a sweeping stimulus bill that will pump emergency funding into the CDC to combat the coronavirus, including a system to gather data on how the virus is spreading.
Of the funding allocated to the CDC, the stimulus sets aside at least $500 million for public health data surveillance and modernizing the analytics infrastructure. The CDC must report on the development of a “surveillance and data collection system” within the next 30 days. While it’s not clear what form that surveillance system will take, the federal government has reportedly expressed interest in aggregating data that can be gleaned from tech platforms and smartphone use to monitor movement patterns.
Other countries have already turned to high-tech surveillance systems in an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus. China rolled out a mandatory smartphone app that asks citizens questions about their level of exposure to people who have demonstrated symptoms, and automatically orders certain users to quarantine themselves. Singapore has issued a similar app that uses Bluetooth to detect people’s proximity to those who have been exposed to coronavirus and warns them to get tested if they come in close contact.
If launched in the US, a smartphone app for tracking people’s health would have to comply with privacy laws like HIPAA, which prevents the sharing of people’s health information between hospitals, the government, and third parties.
MORE DEAD THAN 9/11
Daily Mail – The US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic climbed past 3,000 on Monday, making the outbreak more deadly than the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,977, and health experts are warning the worst is yet to come.
Total deaths across the United States increased by at least 605 on Monday, reaching a total of 3,180. It meant someone died every two minutes from the deadly disease. There were 22,000 new cases which brings the total to 164,471.
The amount the daily deaths increases by will continue to rise until the pandemic hits its peak in America which it is still weeks away from.
The University of Washington School of Medicine predicts that by April 20, the daily increase of deaths will hit 2,000. They say, by that metric, that the total US death toll will be 82,141. The White House has painted an even bleaker picture; that between 100,000 and 200,000 people die in a best case scenario where people follow social distancing guidelines
Tampa megachurch pastor arrested after leading packed services despite ‘safer-at-home’ orders
Fox – The pastor of a Tampa megachurch is facing charges after refusing to close its doors despite a “safer at home” order in effect in Hillsborough County, meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. The sheriff says up to 500 people were in attendance at Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne’s Sunday services.
Howard-Browne, 58, turned himself in Monday afternoon after Sheriff Chad Chronister and State Attorney Andrew Warren on Monday announced an arrest warrant had been issued for charges of unlawful assembly and violating public health emergency rules of isolation and quarantine. Howard-Browne was released 40 minutes later after posting a $500 bond.
The River at Tampa Bay Church held two services Sunday, Chronister said, and even offered bus transportation for those services. The church’s live stream showed a packed crowd cheering and applauding.
The River at Tampa Bay Church held two services Sunday, Chronister said, and even offered bus transportation for those services. The church’s live stream showed a packed crowd cheering and applauding.
“His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week in danger,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a press conference Monday afternoon. “They have access to technology allowing them to live stream their services over the internet and broadcast to their 400 members from the safety of their own homes, but instead they chose to gather at church.”
Chronister stressed that the warrant was not an attack on religious freedom and noted there are other Tampa Bay-area churches who are following the social distancing guidelines set by the CDC. He said his concern now is whether the novel coronavirus may spread following the crowded services.
New Jersey man charged for throwing “corona party” with 47 people in his 550-square-foot apartment
CBS – A New Jersey man has been charged after throwing a “corona party” with nearly 50 people in his small apartment — violating a statewide ban on social gatherings due to COVID-19. Governor Phil Murphy called the party “stupid” and said he was ready to “name” and “shame” anyone who throws another one.
Police in Ewing Township were called to an apartment around 1 a.m. Saturday after an anonymous call about a party. Officers found 47 people in a 550-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. There was alcohol, the smell of marijuana and a DJ with speakers, according to the Mercer County prosecutor’s office. Police sent all of the partygoers home.
The renter — identified by police as Wade E. Jackson, 47 — said he was throwing a “corona party,” police said. He was issued one summons for violating an emergency act, and another for obstructing the law.
Governor Murphy issued an executive order March 21 that banned social gatherings and urged New Jersey residents to stay at least six feet apart from each other, to help stop the spread of the potentially deadly virus.
On Twitter, Murphy blasted the man behind the party.
“Last night, Ewing Township Police broke up a party with 47 people — including a DJ — crammed into a 550-square foot apartment. The organizer was charged, as they should have been and deserved to be,” the governor wrote. “This is not a game. Stay home. Be smart.”
Hours later, he circled back with another tweet.
“Can’t believe I have to say this at all, let alone for the second time. But here we are. NO CORONA PARTIES. They’re illegal, dangerous, and stupid,” Murphy said. “We will crash your party. You will pay a big fine. And we will name & shame you until EVERYONE gets this message into their heads.”
Twitter Pulls Down Laura Ingraham’s Coronavirus Tweet for Violating Policy
The Hollywood Reporter – The Fox News host wrote on March 20 that a major New York hospital is using hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus with “very promising results.”
Twitter has taken action against Fox News host Laura Ingraham, removing a tweet she published on March 20 for violating the platform’s policies against spreading misleading coronavirus information.
A Twitter spokesperson on Monday confirmed the deletion to The Hollywood Reporter.
To deal with an onslaught of virus misinformation, Twitter announced two weeks ago that it has broadened the “definition of harm to address content that goes directly against guidance from authoritative sources of global and local public health information.”
In recent days, Ingraham has used her show to advocate for the use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for coronavirus, citing anecdotal evidence of success.
In the tweet at issue, Ingraham wrote that “Lenox Hill [Hospital] in New York among many hospitals already using Hydroxychloroquine with very promising results. One patient was described as “Lazarus” who was seriously ill from COVID-19, already released.”
Ingraham’s tweet seemed to stem from comments made by Dr. William Grace, an oncologist who is affiliated with Lenox Hill but does not work for the hospital. An article on the network’s website now includes the following editor’s note: “A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Dr. William Grace’s relationship to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Grace is not employed by the hospital and his opinions given below are his own.”
Fox News did not respond to a request for comment about the deletion.
Ingraham has continued advocating for the use of hydroxychloroquine, for which the Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an emergency use authorization. The anti-malarial drug is also being tested in New York state.
On Monday morning, she criticized a CNN article for including a disclaimer that “there is little scientific evidence” that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are “effective” in treating the virus.
“Why does CNN not recognize the COVID patients all over the world who have walked out of hospitals testing negative after being treated with hydroxychloroquine?” Ingraham wrote.
Violators of Maryland’s stay-at-home order face criminal charges
NBC – Washington, D.C. joined Maryland and Virginia in enacting “stay-at-home” mandates Monday amid the coronavirus outbreak.
They join states like New York, New Jersey, California and Washington — all among the hardest hit by the spread of COVID-19 — in locking down residents’ movements. The U.S. counts the most coronavirus cases of any country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, with more than 153,200 confirmed cases of the virus and at least 2,828 deaths.
With more than half of U.S. states now ordering residents to stay at home, more restrictions could be down the line.
While 27 states in total have issued stay-at-home directives and closed nonessential businesses, Maryland’s penalties for violating its order are among some of the strictest in the country.
Hawaii also categorized non-compliance with its stay-at-home policy as a misdemeanor and has the same penalties as Maryland, according to an order Gov. David Ige issued on March 23. In Washington State, violation of Gov. Jay Inslee’s ‘stay home, stay healthy’ order is a gross misdemeanor and could result in a $5,000 fine and up to 364 days in jail, according to the order, which was announced March 23.
Alaska, which issued a stay-at-home order on Friday, has harsher penalties than Maryland, Hawaii and Washington. Under certain circumstances, an individual who violates the state’s stay-at-home order may be criminally prosecuted for reckless endangerment, which is considered a class A misdemeanor, according to the order issued by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Violators could face a prison term of up to a year and may have to pay a fine of up to $25,000.
Justice Department reviews stock trades by lawmakers after coronavirus briefings
CNN – The Justice Department has started to probe a series of stock transactions made by lawmakers ahead of the sharp market downturn stemming from the spread of coronavirus, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The inquiry, which is still in its early stages and being done in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission, has so far included outreach from the FBI to at least one lawmaker, Sen. Richard Burr, seeking information about the trades, according to one of the sources.
Public scrutiny of the lawmakers’ market activity has centered on whether members of Congress sought to profit from the information they obtained in non-public briefings about the virus epidemic.
Burr, the North Carolina Republican who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, has previously said that he relied only on public news reports as he decided to sell between $628,000 and $1.7 million in stocks on February 13. Earlier this month, he asked the Senate Ethics Committee to review the trades given “the assumption many could make in hindsight,” he said at the time.
There’s no indication that any of the sales, including Burr’s, broke any laws or ran afoul of Senate rules. But the sales have come under fire after senators received closed-door briefings about the virus over the past several weeks — before the market began trending downward. It is routine for the FBI and SEC to review stock trades when there is public question about their propriety.
In a statement Sunday to CNN, Alice Fisher, a lawyer for Burr, said that the senator “welcomes a thorough review of the facts in this matter, which will establish that his actions were appropriate.”
“The law is clear that any American — including a Senator — may participate in the stock market based on public information, as Senator Burr did. When this issue arose, Senator Burr immediately asked the Senate Ethics Committee to conduct a complete review, and he will cooperate with that review as well as any other appropriate inquiry,” said Fisher, who led the Justice Department’s criminal division under former President George W. Bush.
Congress passed the Stock Act in 2012, which made it illegal for lawmakers to use inside information for financial benefit.
Under insider trading laws, prosecutors would need to prove the lawmakers traded based on material non-public information they received in violation of a duty to keep it confidential.
Burr’s committee has received periodic briefings on coronavirus as the outbreak has spread, but the committee did not receive briefings on the virus the week of Burr’s stock sales, another source familiar with the matter told CNN earlier this month.
Judges Struck Down Three State Bans On Abortions During The Coronavirus Outbreak
Planned Parenthood and other reproductive rights groups have sued five states, including Texas, Alabama, and Ohio, for banning abortions as part of their coronavirus-mitigation strategies.
Buzzfeed – Federal judges issued orders requiring Texas, Ohio, and Alabama to allow abortion clinics to stay open and keep providing services Monday, hours after a coalition of reproductive rights groups filed a series of lawsuits to prevent states from banning abortion due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had ordered a ban on abortions last week, saying the procedure did not qualify as “essential” health care (except in cases of a threat to the life of the pregnant person). Paxton ordered any scheduled procedures to be postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak in order to mitigate the spread of the virus and devote any medical resources to treating it. Ohio’s and Alabama’s health departments issued the same interpretation of their states’ orders to cease non-essential medical services during the pandemic.
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union quickly filed emergency lawsuits, arguing that the orders were unconstitutional and demanding they be halted and clinics in the state be allowed to continue their work. Judges granted their request for temporary restraining orders to keep clinics open in all three states Monday evening.
In his decision, US District Court for the Western District of Texas Judge Lee Yeakel said that Texas’s order would cause “irreparable harm” to abortion clinics and their patients, and that this harm “outweighs” Texas’s reason for the order.
“Regarding a woman’s right to a pre-fetal-viability abortion, the Supreme Court has spoken clearly. There can be no outright ban on such a procedure,” Yeakel wrote. “This court will not speculate on whether the Supreme Court included a silent ‘except-in-a-national-emergency clause’ in its previous writings on the issue.”
Problems with FBI surveillance extended far beyond probe of Trump campaign, Justice Dept. inspector general says
Washington Post –
The Justice Department inspector general revealed Tuesday that he found errors in every FBI application to a secret surveillance court his office examined as part of an ongoing review — suggesting the problems exposed in the bureau’s probe of President Trump’s 2016 campaign extend far beyond that case alone.
The memorandum issued by Inspector General Michael Horowitz stems from an audit launched last year after his office found 17 serious problems with the FBI’s surveillance applications targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Economy & Business
Amazon warehouse workers walk out in rising tide of COVID-19 protests
As Amazon workers across the country test positive for the virus, employees believe collective action is the only way to get the company to meaningfully clean its facilities
The Verge – Workers at Amazon’s Staten Island, New York, fulfillment center walked out today to protest the company’s response to COVID-19 infections among its warehouse employees. Amazon has confirmed one case of COVID-19 at the New York facility, but workers say there have been at least 10 and that the company has failed to notify workers or properly clean the warehouse. Now, they are calling for Amazon to shut down the facility for two weeks for deep cleaning.
“The goal is to get that building shut down, and they will shut it down, because no packages, nothing gets out the building without associates,” says Derrick Palmer, who has worked at the facility, JFK8, for four and a half years. “This is a pandemic. People are literally losing their lives because of this virus. And [Amazon is] not taking this seriously. They’re not giving us our respect that we demand. We’re not going to ask for it. We’re going to demand it, because at the end of the day, we’re the heart and soul of that building, not the managers. They’re back in the office. We’re in the front lines working.”
Workers at 19 US Amazon warehouses have tested positive for COVID-19, according to local news reports. So far, Amazon has closed facilities only when forced to do so by government order or worker protest
General Electric workers stage protest, demand company start producing ventilators
NY Daily News – General Electric factory workers protested Monday while demanding the company start manufacturing ventilators at its idle jet engine factories.
Workers at an aviation factory in Lynn, Mass., as well as union members at GE’s Boston headquarters participated in the protest, according to Motherboard.
GE recently announced it would lay off nearly 2,600 aviation workers and 50% of its maintenance workers in order to save money despite Congress recently passing a multi-trillion dollar corporate bailout that includes nearly $100 billion in relief and assistance for the aviation industry and defense contractors, like General Electric.
Members of the Industrial Division of Communication Workers of America said in a press conference Monday that these layoffs would only slow the eventual production of ventilators.
MORE PUMPING: Fed steps in once again to try to save markets
AP – The Federal Reserve is intervening once again to try to smooth out the world’s lending markets, this time by lending dollars to other central banks in exchange for Treasurys.
The Fed’s move Tuesday marks its latest aggressive effort to keep borrowing rates down and ensure that financial markets can still function in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. The virus has caused a near-shutdown of economic activity in the United States and abroad and made it harder for some banks and companies to borrow. The Fed is trying to facilitate lending and boost confidence that it will do all it can to support the global financial system.
The new lending program will allow other central banks to access dollars without having to sell Treasury securities. Excessive selling of Treasurys typically causes their interest rates, or yields, to rise, and that makes borrowing more expensive. The Fed is trying to prevent this.
“This facility should help support the smooth functioning of the U.S. Treasury market by providing an alternative temporary source of U.S. dollars other than sales of securities in the open market,” it said in a statement.
Health
FDA approves new 5-minute coronavirus test
BGR – The world is scrambling to mass-produce more tests able to detect the novel coronavirus more quickly than traditional tests. That’s because the SARS-CoV-2 virus is very contagious, having infected more than 740,000 people around the world in three months. Not only that, but the virus is inconsistent when it comes to symptoms. Some people won’t experience any symptoms for up to 14 days after being infected. What’s worse is that most of the COVID-19 symptoms mimic the flu. The loss of taste and smell is an unusual early COVID-19 sign that people should be on the lookout for, although not all patients might experience it. In most cases, you can’t detect the virus early by looking at symptoms alone. And without symptoms, you won’t qualify for any sort of testing in the US and other countries.
Researchers have come up with coronavirus tests that deliver results as fast as 30 or 45 minutes. That’s a lot better than hours or days, but Abbott can deliver results even quicker than that. Its new COVID-19 test needs only five minutes for a positive result and 13 minutes for a negative result.
This is the sort of test that could be used for healthcare workers, first responders, and any other essential personnel suspected to have come in contact with a COVID-19 patient. The tests can also be used for screening travelers coming in from hot zones, or actually diagnosing patients in hot zones faster than before. Also, patients coming to the ER with other life-threatening conditions and patients who might require emergency surgeries could be tested for COVID-19 beforehand.
Study: Coronavirus Droplets Can Travel 27 Feet
Newsmax – A Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher’s findings suggest the current 6-foot social distancing rule to prevent spreading of the coronavirus might not be tough enough.
Lydia Bourouiba, Ph.D., an MIT associate professor, found that when people exhale, droplets carrying the virus can travel in gaseous clouds as far as 27 feet, USA Today reported.
Her research is at odds with recommendations given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization that recommend six feet and three feet of space between people, respectively
New Blood Test Could Spot 50 Types of Cancer
Newsmax – A simple blood test for dozens of cancers is in the works.
Researchers say their test can detect more than 50 kinds of cancer at early stages and pinpoint their location in the body.
“If these findings are validated, it will be feasible to consider how this test might be incorporated into a broader cancer screening strategy,” said lead researcher Dr. Michael Seiden, president of McKesson Specialty Health’s U.S. Oncology Network in Woodlands, Texas.
The test has a false positive rate of less than 1%. That means fewer than 1% of people tested would be told they had cancer when they didn’t. Current breast cancer screening has a false positive rate of about 10%, the researchers said.
The test also identifies where the cancer originated 96% of the time and is 93% accurate.
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